Looking good in green: The basics of sustainable fashion

Think outside organic cotton and bamboo when it comes to sustainable fashion. Scarf made form recycled plastic bottle polyester, by A Lot To Say, $40.

Photograph by: Dave Sidaway
, The Gazette

It's vegan, eco-friendly, fair-trade, made locally -- and proceeds help impoverished children! The latest do-gooder fashion companies are certainly setting some high standards.

Toms Shoes, based in Santa Monica, Calif., is giving away a pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair purchased. British giant Marks and Spencer has adopted a mission, "Plan A", to become carbon neutral and to stop sending waste to landfills by 2012.

Meanwhile, Paris's yearly Ethical Fashion Show, a trade event featuring conferences, workshops and runway shows centred on ecological and social matters, is touring cities such as New York, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin and Milan through next year.

The sustainable-fashion movement is blowing up like a big green balloon, with innovative companies finally adding corporate responsibility to the bottom line.

Problem is, as a consumer, after you try on those perfect-fitting jeans, in the 30 seconds it takes to walk to the cash register, it's nearly impossible to start weighing ecological matters such as water waste and land use, or ethical matters, such as labour conditions and charity causes.

"Most people get overwhelmed and turn it off," said Lindsay Coulter, a.k.a. the Queen of Green for the David Suzuki Foundation.

Instead of trying to figure out whether to buy organic cotton or bamboo, she says, sustainable-seeking consumers should simply abide by the "cradle to cradle" philosophy. That is, shoppers should start asking questions about where and how clothes and accessories are made.

They also need to think about what ultimately happens to their clothes after they've finished with them.

If consumers become mindful about how clothes are treated and disposed of, the idea is that, eventually, more businesses will have to keep up.

"You can't do it all," Coulter said. But you can start by going to stores that will help you understand how your efforts are making a difference.

Setting the Standard

Danny Lourenco owns the sustainable-fashion boutique Rien a Cacher on Montreal's St. Denis Street. He's been doing plenty of eco-homework throughout the years.

"Our benchmark is items 'made locally.' The majority of our products are Canadian-made, and a few are from the U.S.," he said, explaining that buying locally supports re-investment in the community and economy. It also makes it easier to track how products are made, which is crucial for shop owners like Lourenco.

"Making things locally means using far less transportation," thereby reducing the carbon footprint, he said, adding that working and safety conditions here are regulated, whereas such regulations don't necessarily exist in other parts of the world.

"Otherwise, I offer fair-trade-certified products," Lourenco said. These are imported from developing countries and overseen and approved by the independent FLO-CERT body. The organization ensures that environmental and labour conditions are established among farmers and workers.

Lourenco is also well-versed in other labour and organic certifications, but he places most confidence in fair trade. "Human rights and the environment are interrelated," he said.

At Rien a Cacher, garments made of new textiles, such as organic cotton or bamboo, are certified eco-friendly, while any items with a synthetic base have either been recycled or up-cycled. Recycled clothes include fleece made from recycled plastic bottles, while up-cycled clothing refers to vintage or used clothing that has been restyled to fit current trends.

Still, Lourenco said, "We hope people buy our clothes because they're nice, not because of the concept."

Going green

Indeed, most sustainable fashionistas are proud of their earthiness, but are keen to see more high-style clothing grace the industry. It's part of an effort to ditch that hippie stigma.

"We want to enjoy dressing up; we don't want to wear hemp all the time," said Alexandra Schwartz of Studio Breathe, a sleek-looking Montreal yoga and karate studio. On Nov. 19, Schwartz held a charity auction for the David Suzuki Foundation to promote ethical consumerism.

Schwartz agrees that, aside from a few cute frilly tops, Montreal's sustainable-fashion movement tends to produce lots of casual T-shirts and cozy sweaters. Because many of these looks can be granola-heavy, "terms like 'organic' can get a negative reaction," she said.

Schwartz also believes customers are wary of eco-clothing because of "greenwashing" - whereby companies advertise items as eco-friendly when they have only a small percentage of organic cotton mixed with a bulk load of petroleum-based ingredients. They may also make other eco-claims they can't back up.

In the hopes of giving sustainable consumerism a fresh start, Schwartz has adopted the "blue" philosophy of Adam Werbach, the former head of the Sierra Club and now CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S, the ethical division of the ad agency. Werbach's "blue" ideology stresses the ethical features of consumerism -- such as buying a pair of those charitable Toms Shoes -- rather than just focusing on the "green" items, such as organic cotton.

Fashion first

Eva Anastasiu is an ex-Montrealer living in Paris who runs www.ecofashionworld.com with three other partners. The site, which was launched two years ago, has more than 1,000 subscribers to its newsletter, and more than 300 sustainable brands listed.

A regular at Paris's Ethical Fashion Show, Anastasiu believes the industry's mission should be to reach out to the global fashion community.

"The goal is to have more fashion designers to go eco-(style) -- not necessarily more humanitarians," Anastasiu said. While she's all for former Peace Corps workers launching their indie fashion labels, she thinks designers with proven talent should be recruited into the sustainable-fashion movement. That way, they can help improve the industry's style and image, which is key to igniting an even larger consumer trend. In turn, even more corporations will have to become responsible.

She sees looks becoming more upscale: Last year, John Patrick Organics was nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America award. This year, two more sustainable-fashion designers, Monique Pean and Natalie "Alabama" Chanin, were nominated.

"All this organic culture is a heritage of hippie culture; it's just where it started," Anastasiu said. "Now it's taken up by people who are trained as designers and more fashionably interested brands."

Bigger brands such as American Apparel should also be recognized for their vertically integrated business model and fair working conditions, Anastasiu said. "And they have quite a bit of organic cotton," she added. Anastasiu lists H&M as another company with corporate-responsibility initiatives.

Still, Anastasiu acknowledges that bigger companies tend to be about "fast fashion" -- fast food for your wardrobe, based on manufacturing and selling cheap, disposable clothes. This runs counter to the sustainable-fashion philosophy, which is all about good quality, longer-term buys from smaller, up-cycled vintage stores, and sustainable-fashion shops.

"A lot of eco-fashion designers are amazing people: They go to farms, to factories, and have their noses everywhere," she said. "I admire them so much, and I really think their work should be promoted."

Pet concerns

Sabrina Barila, owner of Barila Clothing, a two-year-old hip Montreal label, has modelled her company on Stella McCartney's no-animal-products concept.

"I don't use leather because I'm a vegetarian," she said. "I wanted to create (a company) that appeals to me -- without the remorse."

Several organizations, such as Compassion in World Farming (www.ciwf.org.uk), have compiled numbers about the impact of the meat and leather industries on greenhouse-gas emissions.

Sabrina also donates one per cent of profits and one per cent of every staff member's salary to the One Drop Foundation, Guy Laliberte's charity, which seeks to increase water accessibility in impoverished countries. (Barila's sister and collaborator Claudia is in a relationship with Laliberte.) After her spring 2010 fashion show during Montreal Fashion Week, the sisters aired a video clip promoting the One Drop cause.

"I always wanted to help out. No matter what I do, I need to tie it in," Barila said. "I know I could do more, but I'm still a rookie. I learn and do what I can."

A case for simplifying

Learning, trying and then learning and trying some more: It's a fine standard for business and consumers.

"Realize that you are voting with your dollar when you're making a purchase, no matter how big or small," said Coulter.

And remember that the "cradle to cradle" philosophy not only affects new clothing purchases; it also means being mindful of how you wash and treat your clothes (in cold water, minimum time in the dryer, avoid dry cleaning) and how long you manage to prolong their lifespan. Refurbishing, up-cycling and swapping clothes are good ways to do this.

And when you've finished wearing your sustainable garb, donate it to charity; it's both ecological and ethical.

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